Anti-aircraft gun fired at clouds to ease drought in central China

Reserve army soldiers fire artillery shells in an attempt to create precipitation to ease drought conditions in Luoyang in central China's Henan province on Feb. 9. China is sending relief teams to eight drought affected provinces that grow more than two-thirds of the country's wheat.

Reuters

A farmer displays a withered vegetable on a dried field on the outskirts of Huaibei, Anhui province on Feb. 9. China's wheat-growing areas have been hit by a drought, though this year's situation is less serious than in 2008/2009.

According to Reuters, soldiers working for the local "weather modification department" shot chemical rounds into clouds from an anti-aircraft gun to increase snow in Luoyang, Henan province. Wheat output in China, the world's largest producer and consumer of the grain, may be at risk after severe winter drought in its main northern producing regions, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation said.